The sun woke Logan up, he squinted to adjust his sleepy eyes to the sunlight peeking through a slightly opened curtains. He can see the top of Eiffel Tower in between the lights.
Logan smiled, feeling ecstatic as he grab his phone from the night stand without moving too much. He can't bring Rory breakfast today, and he wouldn't like to break the new habit. Well, not without waking her up that is. She's sleeping like a log beside him, her head rests peacefully on his now-dead-arm. Although despite of his dead arm and sore neck for sleeping in one position all night, his heart couldn't be feeling any lighter.
He managed to send his assistant a quick message requesting a full breakfast to be delivered to their room, oh sorry, Rory's room as Nat would know. It's 2am in New York right now, but it was cleared in the contract that the job requires her to be ready at any time of the day -and night-, and a beautiful benefit package had sealed the deal.
He put back his phone and turn to see Rory, the love of his life, right where she belong. He feels like he couldn't stop smiling at how things have turned out. He's got his girl back.
His mind wandered to yesterday, it was the weekend after the rooftop night and the last day of Rory's work in the city. They've completed their data collection, and ready to move on to the States with an excellent achievement. They've got everything they needed, and more. The team couldn't be more satisfied. Logan had met them for lunch or coffee a few times that week in his quest to spend as much time as possible with Rory, so when they were finally wrapped up London, he took them to a celebration dinner. His treat. He's so proud of them, especially at Rory. She is incredible. She had managed her slightly panicky tendency, and had bloomed into a natural leader who can direct, supervise, advise, and solve problem. Logan is still amaze in how she manages her team. She had shown that talent back in college of course, being the Chief of Editor of Yale Daily News, and believe it or not, her time in the DAR also gave her some managing and leadership experience. He is so proud at his girl. And exceedingly happy to be able to call her his girl again. His Rory. His Ace.
It was a nice Friday night yesterday, and everyone was feeling great, they finished dinner at almost nine, which left Logan and Rory quite enough time to catch the last Eurostar train to Paris. Lucky they still have first class seats, and the pair arrived at the hotel at 1am. He escorted her to her room, and was turning away to his room after he kissed her a proper goodnight kiss, when she held up his hand.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"To my room," he answered. Confused, but couldn't stop the hope creeping through his chest, making his breath heavier and harder.
She pulled him into her room and locked the door, and he felt his heart jumped out of his chest.
They made love twice last night. The first was quick and impatient, unleashing the passions they have both been holding back for many many years, but the second, the second was sweet and slow and romantic as if they were pouring their hearts out. They visited familiar places, and explored new territories. Logan found out Rory's new ticklish spot, and Rory found a new way to send Logan through the roof.
It was perfect.
They fell asleep in each other's cuddle. Logan thought he would die of happiness, but he still managed to whisper, "Good night, Ace. I love you,"
He could feel her smile on his chest.
And now, he couldn't wait for Rory to wake up. He has lots of plan for today, and they don't have a lot of time. It's Saturday, and they would have to be back in the States on Monday, which means they only have today and tomorrow in Paris. But that's okay, he will definitely bring her back.
The doorbell woke Rory up and she opened her eyes a little disoriented.
Logan smiled at her, "Good morning, Ace!" Landed a quick kiss on her lips.
"That's our breakfast. I'm gonna go open the door." He said, gently releasing himself from Rory who looks like still hasn't fully wired.
He pushed the breakfast cart to Rory's bedside, and saw her eyes come to life as she scanned the cart. Her hands landed at the coffee pot first, of course.
"Good morning, beautiful!" She said, sniffing and sipping her coffee.
"Whoa, thank you! Now I feel cheap!" He said amused.
"Hush you..." she dismissed him, earning a deep laugh from him.
"You want me to leave you two alone?"
She sighed. "He's not the type who can stand not being the center of attention, wait here..." she said to the coffee that she put back on the cart and signaled him to come with her two fingers. He came obediently.
"Good morning, Huntz!" And placed a deep kiss into his mouth.
"Thank you, now you can go back making out with your coffee," he said when the kiss ended.
"And where will you go?"
"Um, shower?"
"And deny feeding me my pancake with chocolate syrup and sprinkles? How dare you, Huntzberger! You don't know how long I've been waiting for it,"
"Oh I know, Ace! Believe me, I know."
She didn't know how long he's been dreaming of feeding her pancakes with chocolate syrup and sprinkles. Well not exactly that topping, but you know.
He went back to the bed, fixed her her pancake and grab some omelette with bacon for himself. They enjoyed the breakfast cart that was tasty and delightful, mostly because they tease each other in between meal, exchanging kisses through breakfast complete with their usual banter. Logan could almost swear he saw rainbows.
They finished their breakfast feeling full, not just their stomach, but also their hearts. He looked at the clock and it was almost 11. "Come on, Ace! Let's get ready..."
"Ugh, do we have to? Can't we just lay in this room all day? I can picture us doing this all day and not regret a single second. Look at this room, it's so pretty and it's begging us to stay with her. It must have cost a fortune, it would be a shame to leave..."
"Excuse me, this is Paris. I've been here several times and bumped into several things that reminded me of you. And now I get to show you. Of course one and a half day won't cover them all but I promise we'll come back very soon..."
"Oh look at you, King of Sloth...officially handing over your crown to me..." she said stealing another kiss.
"Come on, Rory! I have this library I've been dying to show you..."
"Okay," she said suddenly excited. "Maybe to save time we should shower together..." she said seductively as she pulled his hands into the bathroom with her.
They got out of the hotel almost an hour later. He's very excited to show her around Paris, as far as he's concerned, she hasn't been here before. While him, he's spent a some time in Paris, but just for work, or meeting Odette. He hasn't had the time (or the want) to stroll around the romantic city, because exploring anything new could easily remind him of Rory, and constantly seeing something and wanting to share it to his ex who has her own life and hasn't been in contact with him for years wasn't healthy. So he kept his exploration to the minimum, and stick to the common places that he thought wouldn't remind him of her. Although he still did, some times. And today, he get to experience things again without having to worry some feelings would come back, because they have, and they're staying. It couldn't be more ecstatic.
He took Rory to the Canal Saint Martin in the 10th arrondissament, sat on the water edge, holding hands, and enjoying each other company. Of course he didn't forget to order pizza from the Pink Flamingo, where they gave him a pink baloon to mark his order to which they will deliver. After that, they went to Studio 28, a really old French cinema at the Rue Tholoze. It was a vintage cinema and they had on a classic French movie. Logan and Rory spent an hour and a half in the theater making out because they failed to distinguish the movie's tag: VO (version originale), or VF (Version Francais). They picked the VF, laughed at their fortune when the movie started and they realized it was in French, which they do not understand.
When they finished the movie, Logan took her for a walk along the Seine, resulting in their banter of literary works, and ended up in Le Coup Chou at Rue Lanneau, a nice little vintage townhouse that is serving France's classic cuisine in a romantic atmosphere.
Logan looked at Rory with admiration. This is it. He's officially a wuss. He never understood the word 'taken' until now. He's been with a great number of women, and he's been with one woman at a time. But taken, he could only be taken by this particular woman.
"Logan, I'm so happy..."
"Me too, Ace."
"But where is that Library you promised me?"
"It's called La Belle Hortense, we can go there after this,"
"And how do you know about all these spots? They're so romantic and magical, and if I'm not already in love with you, I totally would. I mean this day tour is designed to make someone fall in love, which is your specialty, Mr. Huntzberger," she said sipping her wine.
Colin helped him pick the spots. But he was more than happy to accept the credit. And he couldn't help to notice she said she had already in love with him.
"I said I would woo you, Ace. And that's what I'm doing. And I've never done that to any of the other women. I only wanted to do it to you. You challenge me to be better, Rory. You have made me happier than I'd ever been."
Rory blushed. She put her hand on top of his. He felt a metal touched his hand and looked down to see a gold bracelet enlaced her wrist. A gold bracelet with an umbrella charm. The one he gifted her for her second graduation. He looked up to see his first, and apparently last, love. Her eyes are lustrous. The most beautiful eyes he's ever seen.
"I love you, Logan Huntzberger."
His heart leaped. All these years he had given up hope to hear those words coming out of this woman's mouth again. He didn't know how much he had been longing for this until it happened and he felt his heart soar.
"I love you more, Ace." He replied. Unable to come up with better response.
"Let's go! The library will be open till dawn, it's actually also a bar, so you can sip wine while exploring the books. I believe you will find a lot of interesting books there, and I... I will find some dark corners that I hopefully can lure you into..." he said seductively.
"Well then, I'm in, Huntzberger!"
They spent the rest of the evening in there. Comparing literary knowledge, sipping wine, and kissing. Logan felt his lips are swollen and red, but boy they feel great. He mean, if lips can feel, you know.
They arrived at their room -it's theirs now because he checked out of the other room- a little over midnight, undressed each other and made love. This time with a bunch of happy feelings, and laughters, and plays. And when they finished an hour later, the euphoric feeling kept them awake. So they decided to sit on the balcony, cuddling while watching the lights on the Eiffel Tower.
"My mother will be sooo jealous!"
"Yeah I don't think mentioning your mom when I'm half naked is a good thing. I don't want to picture her in this state. It's inappropriate,"
She laughed.
"You know she was supportive of us. She was the one who encouraged me to profess my undying love to you at Elias' party,"
Logan raised his eyebrows, "Lorelai? Are we still talking about the same Lorelai?"
"Oh stop it! You know she was always supportive of us, you remember her letter when we broke up?"
"Yes... the letter you never told me what's written on it."
"She also encouraged me to go to San Fransisco, but we both know how it ends,"
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. I've come to terms that it was nobody's fault. It's just the way it is..."
"Yeah well, I've been meaning to talk to you... umm, I've talked to my father and he agreed to make you permanent consultant in HPG New York. Therefore you will be one of our directors. Getting the board's approval shouldn't be hard, they will agree to whatever Father says, and he is now worships you," Logan smirked, feeling so proud that his girl can impress his dad this much.
"I've got the company lawyers going through your contract with the Times to eliminate any possible breach, but it shouldn't be a problem since you're only a consultant and your contract ends at the end of the year anyways. We can begin your transition into HPG in January..." he stopped when he noticed Rory's face. There were a lot going on in that face, and none was a happy one.
"You're doing it again." She stated.
"Do what?"
"Making decisions. Making decisions about me that don't involve me in the process,"
"What? I thought you would be happy. I figured we're together now, and you're staying in New York, I stay in New York, the company's in New York. It's logical that you work for the company, right? It's a great opportunity, Rory! People would kill to be a Director of HPG! What's the problem, Rory?" He is really confused now.
"You don't even know what's wrong! How could I make you understand?"
"Yes, I don't! I thought things are going great. We finally admitted we love each other, there's no one else in between, we're in the same city, in the same business,"
"You're giving me a job,"
"What's the problem with that?" He's getting frustrated.
"I know that it sounds really ungrateful, but you giving me a job makes me feel you're trying to control me. That you don't trust me, and the fact that you didn't even consult with me just proves that!"
"I trust you!" He screamed. "In fact, I trusted you so much I gave you a very important position!"
"Yes, in your company. You don't trust me to make my own way, my own decisions, you think with giving me a job I would settle down and our relationship will be secured,"
"What's wrong with that?"
"What's wrong is the trust, Logan! I need, I want a relationship where I am trusted, where I can trust my partner. And that trust include a trust that he will involve me in any decisions that involves me!"
Rory panted, exhausted from her emotional oration.
"Rory, just an hour ago we were happy and in love with each other, why are we fighting like this right now?" He pleaded.
"Because this is the fundamental issue of our relationship. You don't trust me. You said you've forgiven me for rejecting your proposal, but you didn't forgot. And you keep projecting it. So, unless we find a way to fix that, I don't see this relationship going anywhere,"
Logan's face fell as he felt his heart sunk.
"So, where does it leave us?"
"I don't know. I need time to think. I'm gonna go sleep on the couch," she said putting on her pajamas.
"I can sleep on the couch," he offered.
"No, it's okay. It's huge." She said.
Logan knew there's no chance of talking with this woman right now. So he gave her her space. They will sort this out in the morning.
But the next morning, Logan woke up to a note:
'Logan, I left to London to grab my things and going straight to the States. I'm sorry I left you alone in Paris, but I really need to think, and I couldn't do that when I'm with you. Rory.'